A War I Didn't Start
by DiamondSummit
Summary: who was Bree? what was life like fighting in a newborn army? was she just another pawn? was she in love? this is life throught her eyes. "welcome to the war." Bree/OC Sara/OC. please read the second chapter! it's better then the first.
1. The Beginning of Forever

**I present to you all, the story of Bree! This has been floating in my head for a while. Hope it comes out well. In my story, Bree is 16.**

**Disclaimer: All I own is my imaginary friend. HA! Señor Bubbles is all mine! No, Señor Bubbles! I didn't mean it like that! Don't leave me!**

**Chapter One**

**The Beginning of Forever**

Bree's POV

Oh, I was so happy! My boyfriend, Patrick, had just taken me to the most beautiful restaurant and now we were walking on the beach. He was always so thoughtful like that. Like when other boys might take me to the movies, he drove me all the way to the ocean to make the date memorable. I had been dating him for two years and loved every second of it. I was completely in love with him. There was no other way to describe what I felt. It could only be love. So now I was standing next to him, holding his hand while watching waves crash under a full moon.

"Bree," he said, turning me so we were facing each other. "I want to tell you something."

"Go ahead," I said, my quiet tone matching his. he nervously ruffled his hair.

"Bree, you are the most amazing girl in the world. When I think of being away from you, it hurts. I don't know if you feel the same way, but I know that I love you." he looked up at me, presenting a gold necklace out of his pocket. "I want you to have this, it was my mothers". I wrapped my arms around him, happy tears falling down my face.

"I love you, too!" I said, kissing his face. I felt his lips break out into a huge smile against my own. He fixed his mother's necklace around my neck. I knew how much it meant to him. His mother had been killed by the serial killers only a month ago. I couldn't breath I was so happy.

We sat smiling under the stars just happy to be with each other for another hour. When we got up to leave, I heard a rustling in the parking lot. Slowly, two figures detached themselves from the shadows. They looked like they were glowing in the moon light. One was a boy with light blond hair, the other a woman with fiery red hair. both were extremely beautiful and both had bright red eyes. I pressed myself to Patrick's side.

"Take the boy, I'll change the girl," the woman said. Her voice was sweet, yet sent chills up my spine. The blond boy started stalking toward Patrick. I put myself between them.

"Move, girl!" he snarled. "You will both die no matter what you do!" I froze. They were going to kill us! I looked to Patrick. His eyes were filled with pain. He kissed my lips before breaking away with a cry. in horror, I saw the boy had his teeth deep into Patrick's neck.

"No!" I screamed. The life was going from Patrick's eyes. What kind of monsters were they?

"Bree," he whispered before falling to the ground dead.

I screamed as ice cold blades cut into my own throat. The woman was biting me. She pulled her teeth out and the burning began.

_Three days later._

I opened my eyes at last. The burning was gone! Everything was clear, crystal sharp. Above me stood a blond boy. I sat up.

"What am I?" I said, my voice was clear and light.

"A vampire," The boy answered. I nodded. I could remember nothing other then the burning. What ever I was before was gone now. I was a vampire. There was no question about it.

"Who are you?"

"Riley."

"Who am I?"

"You are a soldier for the army. You will fight with us when we go to defeat the gold-eyes. You will hunt with us in the city of Seattle and learn to fight. That is your purpose. You're name is Bree." I stood up next to him. "Test your strength, Bree," He ordered. I wrapped my hand around the flimsy gold chain that lay around my neck, like a collar. I squeezed lightly; the collar-thing crumbled and fell on the ground.

Riley smiled and led me away from the pounding waves.

"Welcome to the war." He said and started running in the direction of an amazing smell. The smell of food. The smell of blood.

**So, what do you think? Should I continue it? Let me know. Señor Bubbles likes reviews.**


	2. Thirst

**This entire thing will be Bree's POV unless I specify otherwise.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight.**

Chapter 2

Thirst

I followed Riley as we ran at amazing speed towards the good smell. We came up to the edge of a city. It occurred to me that not many people were out on the street. Looking up, I saw stars. Lots of stars. It was night but I could see like it was brighter than day. A lone person walked on the streets. They were upwind.

I caught the sent, and fire tore down my throat. I needed to drink. Sinking into a hunting crouch, I stalked forward through the shadows. A feeling was echoing in the back of my head, almost like a tangible thing. I pushed it away towards the human on the side walk. The human froze. So did I. could he have possibly detected me? No. experimentally, I pull the feeling back and the human continued walking. Maybe this would seem more interesting if my throat wasn't burning. I pushed the feeling towards the human again and leaped.

It was perfect. The human froze again and I landed square on his back, carrying both of us to the ground. The next second, my lips and teeth broke the skin of his neck, and hot, delicious blood started flowing down my burning throat. Riley stood above me the whole time, watching me drink from my first kill. Once I was done, Riley picked up the body and threw it into the small strip of trees 50 feet away.

"Good job," Riley said. "It seems you have a talent. You can immobilize people. For future reference, when you kill, you have to dispose of the evidence. You will only hunt when I say you can. You must kill humans only when they are alone. If you fail to follow the rules of the army, you will be disposed of."

"Army?" I asked. "How many are we?"

"Right now, there are 13 vampires, not counting me or the creator. You will not ask anything about the creator, because when we face the gold-eyes, our minds will be looked at by one of their soldiers. They cannot see our creator's plans, or else we will all die. When we arrive at the army base, the others may want to fight you. If you lose, you will die. It's every man for himself, here." I nodded.

We ran through the maze of the city; weaving in and out of alley, jumping fences, sometimes even scaling buildings that were in our way. Finally we landed in a dirty lot that was only accessible by climbing over a rotting, deserted building.

A quiet meadow in the forest of mankind. I smile as I realized how true that was. Humans scampered in and out of their nests like small rodents. They would know to avoid certain areas where the hunters lived. While they believed they were safe in their dens, we would hunt them. But hey, no human was built to live forever, so why not die to support those who do?

A low growl pulled me out of my thoughts. What did Riley say about the others wanting to fight me? How it was do or die here? Well, it wouldn't do me any good by worrying. Bring it on, vampire army! Maybe my talent would give me an advantage.

The other 11 vampires slunk out of the shadows, looking like jungle cats. One in particular stood out. She had vivid scarlet eyes and sleek blond hair that was cropped at her shoulders. The others gathered around her, like she was a leader among them. She was the one growling.

I pulled my lips over my teeth to warn her off, but she responded by crouching into a hunting stance. Riley silently reminded me with his eyes that he wouldn't help me. I nodded to him and sank down to mirror the challenger's position. We circled for a few seconds. I started to push my talent towards her. She froze for half a second before shaking it off.

"You'll have to do better than that, new one," the challenger spat. "You didn't believe you were the only one with a talent, did you? You'll need a miracle to get that thing strong enough to work on a full vampire. Humans are easier; trust me, I know."

"I'm still new at this," I snarled. "Besides, I don't need a gift to take you!" Cocky, I know. I just hoped it would work and make her think I was overconfident so she would let her guard down. She smiled a nasty smile. Oops, I guess that didn't work.

"Trust me, youngling," she was still smiling. "You'll need everything you have to take me." And with that, she charged.

Fighting was the most amazing thing ever. We came together with a crash; teeth snapping, hands flashing. For five seconds, we grappled with each other trying to hit a weakness. Then we pulled apart and circled again. Her eyes calculated my every move. Mine trained on her body and where her center of weight was.

We clashed again. This time she crashed down on me and tried to make me submit. I braced my weight to hold her off while twisting to bite her stomach. Growling, she pulled away again.

All the others were staring with calm faces. They didn't care about me. If I died, they wouldn't flinch. The challenger brought me back to reality by slamming into me again. This time she was successful in pinning me to the ground. Going for the one chance I had, I bit down hard in her shoulder. She screamed and pressed her bare teeth against my throat. Oops, again! I shouldn't have exposed my neck like that! And now it would cost me.

"Let. Go. Of. My. Arm." She hissed. I complied. It was too late for me to get back on top now, I was done. To my utter surprise, she sat up and looked at me funny. "She's a good fighter. She does what she's told," she said, turning to Riley. "Hell, she fought ME off!" now she was smiling. Her mood swings were giving me whiplash. Standing up, she offered me her hand.

"Welcome to the army, kid!" her voice was now light and happy. Like I said, WHIPLASH! "I'm Sara. Sorry about the whole 'fight to the death' thing. We have to see who's good. I'm the best fighter here, so I'm always stuck with it. Congratulations, though. So far, no one has been able to fight me off for more then a few seconds, let alone bite me! You're a natural!"

Great. I was a natural at fighting and, ultimately, killing. I looked around the 'base camp', as Riley called it. This was my new home. My first day and look! I'd already made a friend in Sara. I just hoped first impressions prove wrong, because right now I was still a little scared of her. The other 10 started to warm up. One red hair boy stepped forward.

"Hi!" he said, beaming. "I'm Max! Sara is my mate. I'm glad you're not dead! That would mean no more new people for a while-" Max continued to tell me about the wonders of living in a vampire army until I tuned him out. Looking around, I remembered Riley had said there were 12 vampires already here, 13 including me. In the shadows, a pair of gleaming dark maroon eyes caught my own. They belonged to a dark looking boy. He was pale like the rest of us, but his entire figure looked shady. He was simply staring at me. When I met his gaze, he turned and strode deeper into the shadows.

I'd found the 13th vampire.

**Just to solve any confusion, the place where they're living in is the courtyard of a giant, abandoned mill. There are rotted doorways that allow them to go inside the mill building, which is where our mysterious 13****th**** vampire friend stalked off to. No one ever comes to the mill because A.) It's boarded up from the street because the structure is unsafe, so the only way to get in is by jumping onto the roof. B.) everyone who pokes around the grounds mysteriously disappears (I'm sure you can guess where they go).**


	3. Learning the Ropes

**Greetings everyone. Hope you are all well, my amazing readers. I have recently found myself writing like a person who is deeply involved in the philosophy of life. I have come to one major conclusion: thinking is a lost art nowadays.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bree, Riley, Sara, or Victoria, but all other vampire characters in the vampire army with names are MY OWN CREATIONS! I don't mind if others would like to borrow them; but PM and ask me first, please.**

**Chapter 3**

**Learning the Ropes**

I was still looking into the shadows after the 13th vampire as Max talked. The others in the army were still looking at me like I had an extra head.

"Is it always like this?" I whispered in the softest voice I could manage.

"Don't worry," Sara whispered back. "You're new, they're interested. It'll blow over after a few days." **(The other vampires can't hear while they are whispering. They may have great hearing, but they also have great vocal cords, so it's possible for vampires to have private conversations that other vampires would have a hard time hearing and humans would have no hope of hearing.)**

Glancing around at the other vampires, I noticed most of their clothing was ripped. Their physical features varied, but all had shocking red eyes. Was that what I looked like? Riley's eyes were marginally darker then the others, but still bright scarlet. Why did the 13th vampire have maroon eyes? One vampire pushed my shoulder to get my attention. His face was very angular; from his eyes to his nose to his mouth to his jaw. Everything had an edge. His hair was a dusty brown, his skin was deathly pale. _No, duh!_ I thought to myself. He _is_ dead. Well, by human standards anyway. Funny, I remembered some human things, but had no actual memories. Breaking from my thoughts, I looked up at the one who had pushed me.

"What?" I asked. Who cared if it sounded rude, he shouldn't have pushed me!

"Do you space out like that a lot?" he asked, smiling. I glared. Yep, that's me; the psycho spacey vampire who, by the way, will kick your ass if you make another comment like that, bud.

"Yes, I do. You got a problem with that?" Say something, I dare you.

"No, it's just different. Normally new ones are testing their limits. You haven't tried to punch through a wall yet, so I'm guessing you're not into that stuff." His smile grew wider.

"Well, thank you for the compliment, I think… Um, by the way, what's your name?" I hope that was a compliment, or else I had just embarrassed my self.

"Lester," Lester said. "And you?"

"Bree."

"Well, Bree, nice to meet you." His voice turned from joking to soft and kind. I would have noticed if I hadn't been doing a happy dance in my head. _SCORE! I have a total of three friends! Sara, Lester, and Max! I'm on a roll!_ "Bree, you're spacing again." Lester reminded me. Oops, I have to remember to keep my spacing to a minimum. I must not scare off my _three_ new friends. I noticed 'oops' is becoming a recurring theme here. That kind of worries me.

"So, these are my friends, Oliver and Jaro," Lester pointed out two boys. Each waved at their name. Jaro was tall and wiry, with chestnut hair falling to his shoulders and high cheek bones. Oliver was built thicker then either Lester or Oliver and as tall as Lester. His platinum blond hair was short and made his eyes stand out all the more.

"Nice to meet you, Bree," Oliver smiled, extending his hand. I shook it. Jaro was less formal.

"Welcome to the club, Bree!" he said, pulling me into a hug. He literally squeezed the air out of my lungs. Lester started laughing.

"Down, Jaro!" Sara laughed. Something about her laugh was off, though. Looking over, I say that her eyes were hard. Jaro released me from his death hug. Lester was still laughing, but his eyes had turned hard, too. They both stopped laughing at the same time and glaring at each other.

"Come on, Bree," Sara hissed. "I'll show you around the mill." She then grabbed my arm and towed me across the courtyard.

"What was that about?" I whispered. Max had joined us, sporting a matching scowl.

"Lester and friends aren't exactly friendly towards us," Max mumbled. "You see, Sara is the most powerful vampire here, minus Riley. Lester is extremely competitive and wants to take Sara's place. Right now Riley recognizes Sara as second in command, but if she losses one fight to Lester, she won't be. Even you getting your teeth on her threatens her position and boosts yours."

"Look, Bree," Sara spoke up. "You can be friends with who ever you like, but look out for Lester and his friends. They will probably try to get you to join their group because you had a shot at beating me. You'll have the same pressure every where. Even now, I'm trying to get you to understand in the hope that you'll stay with us instead of going to them…" she trailed off. At least she was being honest with me. I already trusted her more then I probably should.

"Can't I be friends with both of you?" I asked.

"Maybe for a little while, but a fight will break out eventually. Then you'll have to pick a side." I nodded. Shouldn't an army be united with a common goal, not divided in a quest for power? They had led me into the mill building.

"So, on a different note, there are some things you should know about life here," Max continued, his voice lighter then before. "You may not leave the mill. You may not hunt without Riley's permission. When Riley calls us for training, you must come. If you fight another vampire to the death, you must burn them at night."

"Wait, is that how you kill a vampire? By burning them?" I asked.

"Yes, you rip them up and burn the pieces," Sara said it like it was the weather, not how we could be killed. "You have to have Riley's permission to fight to the death, though. That only means no burning, I've ripped many people to shreds," Sara smiled wickedly. I just stared at her. She shrugged.

"Do you want to explore on your own for a little while?" max said while smiling at the expression on my face.

"Sure," I said. I needed some time to think without being interrupted by fighting vampires. Sara and Max walked back out into the courtyard. I started wandering. The inside of the mill was, in one word, empty. A slice of sun had come out and was shining through the few windows that weren't boarded up. It was actually bright here, like people had forgotten to board up all the windows in this section. Shards of stray light were reflecting every where. Looking around the corner, I saw the 13th vampire standing there. Sparkling in the sunlight.

"What do you want?" the 13th asked quietly. His voice was deep. It was nice, it reminded me of thunder. Not loud, but powerful all the same. His back was to me.

"I'm just looking around," I explained. "Who are you?"

"No one important," he replied. I walked a closer until I could see behind his chin length hair. It was almost black, but not quite; more of a dark brown. His eyes were maroon like I remembered. He met my gaze and turned back to the window.

"Why are you're eyes darker?" I asked. Deep, rolling laughs shook his frame.

"I don't exactly follow the 'rules of the army', so Riley doesn't give me the 'privilege' of hunting." He snarled at Riley's name. "You should go," he continued. I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off. "Trust me, its better if you go right now. I need to be alone for a little." His voice was soft, yet commanding. If he wanted to be alone, fine. I turned to go. At the edge of the room, I looked back at the 13th.

"Can you just tell me your name?" he turned his head to me and stared with his maroon eyes.

"Altan. My name is Altan."


	4. Training

**Hey everyone! So, I have a dilemma. Should I do this story in different POV's or do another story completely of Altan's POV? Review and answer me. If I don't get any input, I won't do either! Ha ha! I win!**

**I also got some great questions from afraidofeverestlove (see reviews to read questions)**

**The "friendships"- these friendships are based on power first and attraction second. Like with James, Laurent, and Victoria. Sometimes physical attraction is part of it, but not always. I didn't mention this before, but all the vampires were in their teens when changed. Victoria wanted the mood swings to make them good fighters, but it also made them feel the need to fit in with others. Basically, this is like high school to the extreme. Sara and Max (and now Bree) are the populars and Lester's group is the group that always seems kind of popular but not. Poor Altan is an outcast.**

**Trust issues- The reason Bree was so easily manipulated was because Sara has been a vampire for a few months already. Sara was the first one changed, followed by Altan and then Lester. Jasper said in the third book that it was possible for young vampires to work together with him there. Sara has the gift of leadership. Because she is still young, it's not very strong yet but it's strong enough for them to trust each other to not attack when their own back is turned. Her power fully developed would make Lester stop trying to take her place, but like I said, she's still young.**

**Altan's self control- I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this. Do you mean: how is Altan able to not attack Bree when she sneaks up on him? The answer to that is he has been a vampire for a while, so he understands what he's hearing. Bree wasn't exactly being silent and nor was she trying to sneak up on him. She was just looking around and stumbled on him. He knew she was coming and didn't really want to be found, but he put up his gift to soon and exhausted himself right before she arrived. If you mean: how is he able to not go on a killing rampage throughout Seattle? The answer to that is the mill is isolated. No human has been there in years. There is no scent for him to catch. If he went anywhere where there was a human scent, he would kill the human in seconds. He can't break out and get far though because Victoria is guarding the mill from humans getting in and vampires getting out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bree, Riley, Sara, or Victoria, but all other vampire characters in the vampire army with names are MY OWN CREATIONS! I don't mind if others would like to borrow them; but PM and ask me first, please and thank you.**

**Chapter 4**

**Training**

I left Altan to be alone. Strolling back out into the courtyard, Sara and Max strolled over stood so Max and I were flanking Sara. Sara then led us to an overhang over the main doors leading into the mill. She jumped up and lounged on the wet concrete. Max followed, sitting down next to her. I jumped up last and leaned against the back wall.

"So Bree," Sara said, leaning into Max's hand as he stroked her hair. "You know about our group and Lester's group. How much do you know about the others?"

"The only one I know outside of those you said is Altan," I answered. Max and Sara stared at me funny. "What?" I asked. Why was everyone looking at me like that today?

"Altan's power is the ability to disappear," Max said slowly. "He can disappear for up to one minute at a time. Once he has it developed more, he'll be unstoppable. That's the only reason he's still alive."

"What do you mean 'still alive'?" I asked alarmed. He seamed nice enough to me. Sara looked off into the distance.

"He doesn't listen to Riley. He fights on his own terms." She said softly. "He's a good fighter, too. Too good to kill. Riley thinks once his strength goes down a little, he'll obey the rules a little more. Then Riley will allow him to rebuild his strength. He could uproot me if he tried. But what do you know about the others?"

"Nothing." I looked out over the courtyard. The other vampires were in small groups.

"They," Sara pointed out two girls sitting together, "are molly" she pointed at the one with blond hair "and Isla," she gestured to the one with black hair and tan skin underneath the paleness, "they will side with us if need be. They were born around the same time." She then pointed out a boy with dark curly hair and a girl with strawberry blond hair. "Those are Eli and Kendra. They will stick with Riley. They don't care who's next in charge, just who's in charge now. And lastly," she growled, "Grace and Hope. Don't let their names fool you, they are deadly. They have telepathy with each other, so when fighting together they're unstoppable against a single opponent. They double team that one person, fighting in perfect time. Two on two with them is easy, though. They get overwhelmed easily, since they can't control their power." The last two were identical, both with ringlets of tawny gold. The only difference was Grace had a crescent scar on her cheek and Hope had one on her shoulder.

"Where's Riley?" I asked.

"He hunts and talks with the creator during the day then at night we do fight training." Max explained. "He should be back soon," he said looking at the small shard of sun exposing the sunset through the clouds. At his words, Riley jumped down into the clearing.

"Everyone! Gather for training!" he called over the mill. People started assembling in a line. I noticed Altan slip out of the cover of shadows in the mill. The setting sun cast a soft red light over the clearing before slipping away. In that second of light, I saw Altan more clearly. He had scars covering almost all of his neck and shoulders.

"Listen, Bree," Sara pulled me aside quickly. "Every time a newborn is brought here, Riley has us rip the newborn apart to see how long they can go on fighting." I swallowed loudly. This wasn't going to be fun. "He should pick out some easy fighters, someone where you actually have a chance of fighting off. He feels if you give up, he won't know what you're capable of. Just ignore the pain. It will go away in the end. Good luck." She straightened up. We were now all standing in a line. Riley's eyes moved up and down our ranks before coming to rest on me.

"Separate into teams," he ordered. "Sara, Max, Bree, Eli, Kendra, Isla, and Altan are in one group. Oliver, Lester, Jaro, Molly, Grace, Hope, and I are in the other. Bree, you're new so let's start with you fighting from your team. Grace, Hope, you'll be fighting for our team. No one can join the fight until I join."

A small snarl touched Sara's lips. She wasn't happy about me facing Hope and Grace. Neither was I for that matter. We separated until Sara's team was in one line with Riley's directly parallel to it about 30 feet away. I stepped out of my line towards my opponents. Grace and Hope looked at each other once before they started stalking towards me with growls building in their throats. They mirrored each others movement perfectly, right down to identical growls. I growled back. My growl was deeper, fuller, then theirs. Their growl sounded like a wild cat. Mine was like cracking thunder. I knew I should be scared, but I couldn't manage it. They were challenging me, and I would prove that I wouldn't take it. We had progressed to the middle of the space between lines. They started to circle me. Reaching deep down, I found my power to make people freeze. It would only work for a second, but that was all I needed. If Sara was right, when they were fighting, stunning one would be like stunning them both. I just hoped that Sara understood what she was talking about.

Throwing my power toward Grace, I leapt at Hope. My plan worked. Both of them were stunned and I managed to tackle Hope to the ground before they could react. As I was pinning Hope down, she woke up and started struggling. A half a second later Grace landed on my back and started pulling at my shoulders. I gritted my teeth and leaned down, biting Hope's neck. Hope and Grace cried out as I clamped down. I got ready to pull Hope's head from her shoulders when an outside force unclenched my jaw. The same force pushed me off Hope and onto my back. I struggled, but it was no use. Grace and Hope jumped up to take advantage of my weak position, Hope holding me down like I just did to her and Grace pinning my legs. Sara gasped and let out a full roar directed at Riley. Nearly all the other vampires were growling at him. Riley simply smiled.

"Riley! How dare you?" Sara snapped. "She almost beat Hope! How could you interfere?"

"Easily," he replied. "I still have to know how she takes getting ripped up, and if I have to force her to submit using my power, I will." I threw my legs up, trying to dislodge Grace, but it was no use. Grace had a firm hold and Riley's power kept beating me down.

"Returning the favor," Hope whispered before sinking her teeth into my neck and jerking her head up. The result was a long gash that led from the base of my neck to the bottom of my collar bone. Along with mind blowing pain. I screamed. Riley smiled. Hope and Grace laughed. My head fell back, Hope's venom burning in my skin.

Then I heard a roar and both Hope and Grace were thrown off me. Altan stood above me in a protective stance. His lips were drawn back in a full snarl, deep growls ripping from his chest. He sounded like an avalanche or water fall, his tone drowning out the weak kitten snarls coming from Hope and Grace. Suddenly his form flickered and he was gone. Hope and Grace stood wide eyed waiting for him to show himself again. Riley scanned the battle field for his invisible foe.

I felt a hand cover my mouth to warn me not to jump. Then soft fingers started gently rubbing the cut Hope had left me. Altan's invisible fingers were pushing all the venom out of the bite and it slowly began to disappear. My own venom sealed the cut shut, with only a faint crescent scar to show where Hope's teeth had marked me. I felt Altan's hair fall against my cheek as he worked to get my neck fixed before Riley saw.

He wasn't fast enough.

His body became slightly visible again without him noticing. Riley noticed, though. Riley crouched and sprung in one movement. He was fast. I was faster. I threw out my hand, knocking Altan away, before rolling onto my shoulders and pushing off. The timing was right so my feet hit Riley square in the chest. Riley flew away and landed flat on his back. I stood up and roared Riley down. It was pretty intimidating.

To bad I didn't factor in Grace and Hope.

They hit my side, one after the other. Hope bit the top of my left arm and Grace got my right shoulder. I dipped my head and fixed my teeth into Grace's neck. Riley wouldn't stop me this time.

I pulled up, ripping Grace's head from her shoulders. Hope screamed. I didn't wait to behead her. Their bodies fell silently to the ground. I looked around the fight that had broken around my ears.

After Riley joined the fight, it turned into a full blown battle. Eli was already in piece and Kendra didn't have much of a chance. Jaro was fighting Kendra with ease. Oliver and Max circled each other. Isla and Molly were taking occasional snaps at one another. Lester and Sara were locked together, trying to force each other to step down with pure strength. The most fearsome fight was that of Altan and Riley.

They were clawing at each other's faces. They pushed against each other, but neither could unbalance the other. Both had wide snarls. Both were growling and roaring. Altan's maroon eyes were bright with fury. Riley slashed and found purchase on Altan's neck. _Oh no you don't_my lips drew back into an involuntary snarl. Riley was jerking his head to tear Altan's neck. Taking off running, I leapt half way across the clearing and landed hard on Riley's back. My knees holding on to his waist and my hand next to Altan's on Riley's shoulder. I had so much momentum, it pushed Altan and Riley back a few steps.

"I like to be able to fight my own battles," I snarled into Riley's ear. "Don't you?" He twisted his head to try and bite my face. I threw my power at him and bit down into his neck. Then I ripped up, causing an identical gash to the one Hope had given me. Altan bit into Riley's jaw as my power faded away.

"Go," Altan said through his hold on Riley. I nodded, brought my feet beneath me, and pushed off. Jaro had just finished off Kendra and was moving toward Max. I blocked his path.

"Well, Bree," he said. "Aren't you lucky no one has torn you up yet? I remember my first time getting beaten. It was hell, but at least once it was over I knew how to dismantle a vampire. I'm sorry, but if I have the chance I'll do the same to you. That's just how things work here."

"Why, thank you Jaro!" I said sarcastically. "So nice to know you'll rip me limb from limb if you get the chance! What a friend you are." He laughed.

"Well it doesn't sound too good if you put it that way!" he cried, still laughing. I smiled a little then attacked. Anyone could tell he didn't have anything against me. Like he said, that's just the way things go here.

Jaro was a good fighter. He almost got me on several occasions. Almost being the key word there. After a little while, Riley called for everyone to stop.

"Once again," Riley spat. "Altan has broken the rules once again." His voice was deadly quiet. "Jaro, Molly, hold him." Jaro and Molly darted forward and grabbed Altan's arms. Altan curled his lip slightly, but otherwise gave no sign that he had been overpowered. Riley walked up slowly until he was only inches from Altan. Riley's hand shot out and pushed Altan's head back, exposing his neck. I took a step forward, but Sara put her hand on my shoulder as a warning. Riley leaned in and bit deep into Altan's neck. Altan involuntarily cried out before squeezing his eyes shut and going silent. When Riley released a moment later, I could see the cut was deep and full of venom.

It would make another one of many scars.

Riley stalked away and the rest of the army dispersed. I walked over to Altan, who still had his eyes closed tight. I lay on hand on his shoulder so he wouldn't be startled. He didn't even open his eyes. He would know me by my smell. I started rubbing the bite on his neck, mimicking what he had done to me to get the venom out. Slowly, the bite began to heal. Once it finally left its scar, it was lighter then the others. Altan opened his eyes at last.

"Why?" he asked.

"Returning the favor."

**So, review and tell me about Altan's POV. I don't know about you guys, but I'm falling in love with Altan. In case anyone is confused, here are all the vampires in the army. Riley, Altan, Bree, Sara, Max, Oliver, Jaro, Lester, Eli, Kendra, Molly, Isla, Grace, Hope. Please review! this chapter is my pride and joy! I need to know other people like it too.**


	5. One More

**I've decided to do Altan's point of view for part of this chapter. Again, for any questions or comments PM* or review. If you ask in a PM, I'll answer in a PM. Otherwise I'll address the questions in the next chapter. So if you need to know the answer to a question right away, PM me. Don't worry about inconvenience or me not responding. A PM makes me so happy, I usually reply right away. **

*** For those of you who don't know, PM means private message. You can send a PM by going to my profile (click the link at the top of the page that says DiamondSummit).**

**Disclaimer: I claim only my own characters. Not original twilight characters.**

**Chapter 5**

**One More**

_Look out, they're coming after us with big guns,  
They're only gonna tell you all the bad things I've done  
Even if they words they say aren't true they've won,  
Now I'm left here dying in the sun  
Oh...seems like I'm always on my own_

_Augustana "stars and boulevards"_

Altan's POV

The new one was a good fighter. She even had a small power. I could tell Sara was going light on her. I'd seen Sara when her life depended on it, this was very light. Most new ones were beaten down fast, given a small bite, and let loose to nurse their petty wounds.

This one had dark hair to highlight her bright eyes. Bree was her name. Her face and body were angled like every vampire I'd ever seen. Even though she was locked in her first fight, she danced through. Sara seemed to be subconsciously stepping up the pace. I understood the pride in her. She was always fought fair. That's why I preferred her over Riley.

The new one struck a bold move. She bit into Sara's arm. Sadly, she gave up her fight. Sara could have ripped her up then and there. Yet she was smarter than that. By tearing up this new one who fought so well, she would lose a potential ally. Power games among the "army" (as Riley so fondly called it) were brutal. I remembered a time, not so long ago, when we didn't fight among each other. But those times were gone, along with half of the original army.

The new one scanned the courtyard as if looking for something. She caught my gaze. I spun around and walked away into the building. Putting up with fresh newborns wasn't one of my strong points. I walked up to the one window that let in a glimpse of the outside world. Light glinted off my skin, illuminating the room I was in. I heard the new one poking around inside the mill. She wandered into the room next to mine. Using my power, I disappeared. Unlucky for me, she lingered in that room. My power started slipping away and I considered making a run for it. Too bad she walked into my room at exactly that moment. My power also chose that moment to desert me. I knew the gig was up.

"What do you want?" I asked, trying to control my urge to jump out the window and just book it.

"I'm just looking around," the new one said. Her voice was cool, soft like water. "Who are you?"

"No one important," I answered. She moved closer and leaned in to see my face. I turned to meet her eyes before looking away again. I knew she would be unsettled by my eyes. When newborns became unsettled, they quickly resettled on disgust. The last thing I needed was another enemy.

"Why are your eyes darker?" she asked. I laughed. My prediction was spot on. She, at least, asked for a reason. Not that it mattered in the end. Judgments, once made, never changed.

"I don't exactly follow the 'rules of the army', so Riley doesn't give me the 'privilege' of hunting." I explained. Though I tried to keep the snarl out of my voice, I couldn't help spitting out Riley's name. "You should go," I continued. She started to argue. "Trust me, it's better if you go right now. I need to be alone for a little." I explained. The new one turned to leave

"Can you just tell me your name?" she said at the door. I couldn't even find any revulsion in her voice. She hid it well.

"Altan. My name is Altan." That's all she needed to know, she'd get a briefing from Sara. At least she left when I asked her to and I didn't have to snarl at her. Outside, the sun was sinking fast. I wondered who would fight the new one tonight. She was clearly a good fighter. I put my money on Jaro or Max. Maybe even Lester. In the courtyard, Riley called us to order. I ran down to "training."

"Separate into teams," Riley commanded. "Sara, Max, Bree, Eli, Kendra, Isla, and Altan are in one group. Oliver, Lester, Jaro, Molly, Grace, Hope, and I are in the other. Bree, you're new so let's start with you fighting from your team. Grace, Hope, you'll be fighting for our team. No one can join the fight until I join."

Sara snarled, I had a hard time biting back my own. Grace and Hope were very strong. Whatever game Riley was playing, it never failed to disgust me. The new one stepped up. Grace and Hope started snarling. I found it amusing how high pitched their growl was compared to mine. The new one's growl was deeper. It sounded nice. Well, as nice as growling could sound. They all stopped, then the new one launched at Hope. Hope was down in the second it took for the new one's power to wear off. Grace was about to finish it by biting the new one's neck, when the new one dipped down and tore into Hope. I had to admit, she had very good strategy. Already, she could throw her power. She might actually win.

Then something changed.

The new one released Hope and rolled over. Terror flashed around her eyes. Sara was the first to catch on, and her fury spiked as she recognized Riley power around the same time I did.

"Riley! How dare you?" she growled. "She almost beat Hope! How could you interfere?"

"Easily," the beast in charge retorted. "I still have to know how she takes getting ripped up, and if I have to force her to submit using my power, I will." The poor new one tried vainly to throw Hope and Grace off and failed. She looked like she was fighting with all she had. I couldn't take it.

"Returning the favor," Hope whispered as she dipped down to end the fight. The cut was long and painful looking.

The girl screamed. Riley had the nerve to smile. Grace and Hope, being the sick demons they were, laughed. The end of the girl's scream echoed across the clearing. I couldn't hold out any more. Not after Angeline. Not after Jesse.

I snapped.

Roaring, I lunged in and tore Grace and Hope off the girl's body, snarling for all I was worth. Then I did what I do best. I disappeared. The girl's eyes darted around, no doubt looking for any sort of trace to where the monster she'd heard so much about. I placed my hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming as I crouched down next to her. I'd seen Jesse do this to help Angeline once. To her credit, she didn't push me away. Leaning closer, I rubbed her neck getting the venom out. It hit me, as I leaned so close my hair brushed across her cheek; this was the closest I'd gotten to another vampire in a long time. Not counting those who I was trying to rip limb from limb, of course.

Then it happened. She pushed me away. I'd expected it, yet part of me hoped otherwise. I'd hoped she would be different. Always, my hopes would rise with the arrival of someone new. Always I was disappointed. Never before would I have admitted it, but falling back shoved it into my face. Breaking out of my daze, I looked over to see why I'd been pushed away again.

Riley leaping towards where I had just been crouched. The girl rolling onto her shoulders, getting ready to deliver a kick. Looking down, I saw my faint outline. Maybe she hadn't pushed me away in revulsion after all. I almost smiled at the thought.

Things seemed to move in slow motion until the new one hit Riley with enough force to push him into the submissive position she had just been in. bending forward, she roared him down. Unlike her growl which sounded sort of nice, there was absolutely nothing nice about her roar. Her eye's, brighter than a scarlet rose, flooded with dominance and fury. Marble lips drawn into a fearsome snarl. Dark hair framing it all in a swirling storm.

Time sped up again as Hope and Grace hit her like bullets. Sara charged into the fight, clashing against Lester. The others followed her lead. Riley got up and ready to fight the new one. _Not on my watch_ I thought. Darting over, I slashed at his face. He, in turn, snapped at mine.

The world around me faded as I clashed again and again with Riley. _How dare he?_ I thought angrily. Had he not seen the consequences of using his power on other people's fights? Or was he truly so cruel as to be unconcerned about it happening again? I drew my lips back even further across my teeth creating a mirror response from Riley. Our slashes and punches fell harmless against the other. Neither of us could catch the other until I slipped and Riley caught my neck. _Wait it out_ I thought as he began to pull at my neck. Something then slammed into us, pushing me and Riley back a step. Riley released me to see the new one perched lightly on his back. I still had a grip on his shoulders and managed to hold him from twisting to bite the girl.

"I like to be able to fight my own battles, don't you?" she hissed down at Riley before freezing him. She then proceeded to rip an identical scar to the one I just healed. I nearly shuddered when I realized how similar her power was to Riley's. Still, she fought her own battles. At least for now.

Her power was fading, so I bit Riley's jaw to keep him still.

"Go," I muttered around my hold on Riley. She looked into my eyes and nodded. I could never get over the shock of fresh eyes. Hers were no different, Bright red, through and through. After a few weeks, they might gain depth. I bet they would, you could tell from her stance that she had been a beauty as a human. The way she carried herself could only be inherited. Beauties and leaders were born with it. It wasn't something that could we gained at will or through the fire of change.

She leapt off Riley and started fighting Jaro. Riley growled and tossed his head while clawing at my stomach. I responded by pulling back my head (taking his with me) and tearing at his shoulders. Out of nowhere, Isla slammed into my side. She began biting into my shoulder and pulling me away from Riley. I struggled to hold on, but as Riley began punching my neck I lost it.

The second he was loose, he called the fight to a stop.

"Once again," he snarled at me. "Altan has broken the rules once again," His soft growl was aimed at the crowd this time. "Jaro, Molly, hold him." Jaro and Molly pinned my arms down against my sides. I tried hard to remember not to shoot the messengers, but couldn't completely control my facial expression. My lip curled of it's own accord. Riley stalked forward until he stood right in front of me, his smirk right in my eyes. His hand pushed my head back until my neck was tight.

I knew what came next. It didn't make it any easier, though. I still couldn't hold back the cry that accompanied the pain. I squeezed my eyes closed to hold down any other cries that might come from the venom.

Once satisfied with his work, Riley pulled back and walked away. So did the rest of the army. I should go, too. The only problem was if I broke my mask now, I might not be able to stop from whimpering until the venom left and was replaced by my own.

A soft hand landed on my shoulder. Whoever owned it didn't want to fight. Another hand started stroking my neck, pushing the venom out of the bite. I realized it was the new one, not only by her smell but by the similarity of the situation. Finally, my venom took over and healed the wound. I let my mask drop. Opening my eyes, I saw the new one looking up at me.

"Why?" I asked. _Why help me? Why bother? Don't you see the scars?_ It's not like this was new to me.

"Returning the favor," she said with a smile. Her fingers still lingered on my neck. Maybe this new one was different after all.

Maybe Bree was different.


	6. sorry

Okay, I'm really sorry I haven't updated in months. I've really lost inspiration to continue my stories. If it's really killing anyone, PM me and I will send you an outline of how I would have finished it. I hope to continue these stories at some point, but it is unfair to readers for me to go for so long without giving real chapters. Even the last few updates have been sub-par. Please PM me if you want me to read any of your stories or maybe write a quick one-shot. I still love everyone who has taken the time to read these stories and I am very sorry for the disappointment. As of now, I am officially on hiatus.


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